Saudi drone attack: Where are we a week on and what happens next?

The attack could affect flows of both crude oil and refined products, as Saudi Arabia cuts deliveries to its own processing plants

Saudi Arabia suffered the single-biggest blow to its oil infrastructure in the country’s history when critical processing facilities were attacked. After a roller coaster week for the global oil market, what follows takes stock of everything that happened, where we are now, and what to watch in the weeks ahead.

At about 4 a.m. local time, oil processing facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais in Saudi Arabia were attacked by what was initially reported as a swarm of armed drones. The resulting fires were extinguished within hours, but the drama had only just begun.

There were at least 17 points of impact at